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Breaking Through to Effectiveness and Productivity

By Dr. Dan Cole

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:3-9)

Verse 8 really jumps out. “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective.”

Someone once told me that deep down inside, every one of us has the desire to make our lives count for something. I believe that should be the way we live as Christians. I don’t want to come to the end of my life and discover I have been ineffective and unproductive.

How do we put these precepts into practice in our day-to-day lives? After years of pastoring and being a superintendent – years of knowing people – I believe if we would apply what we already know about God to our lives, we would have a great, positive impact on our communities.

We are responsible for what we know. For instance, I don’t want to learn how to use the church copier because as soon as I know how to use it, I will be responsible to help other people make their copies. For now, I can send them to someone else for help.

The Bible is alive and active, and God still speaks through it! As we learn more through reading and studying, we are expected to put it into action. This is knowledge that gets into our hearts and sends us out to achieve great things for God. This is the bottom line: obedience to God’s Word!

The difference between Christians who are productive and effective and those who are not is obedience to God. This is why it is so important to be in the Bible.

God’s divine power has given us – you and me – everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Praise God!

– Dr. Dan Cole serves as District Superintendent of the Nebraska District and pastor of the Fremont Church of the Nazarene, and he also serves on the NBC Board of Trustees.

Published: 02/09/2024

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